Great cities need great art.
OPERA COLORADO’S MISSION:
To connect our Colorado community to the emotions and stories of the world through traditional and innovative opera and educational programming that is accessible to all.
Opera Colorado believes that opera plays a vital role in enriching the community. Every day, the organization removes barriers to make opera accessible and affordable, telling stories that excite and connect people in meaningful ways. Their distinct contribution to the city's cultural life is centered on grand opera productions at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, with additional performances and educational experiences presented live and distributed digitally throughout the seven-county metropolitan area and the state.
THE DETAILS:
Digital Content Manager and Multimedia Producer
Oct 2017 - Sep 2020
*Tenure ended with a COVID-19 layoff*
THE ROLE:
Served as in-house storyteller and digital content marketing manager, overseeing company's content marketing initiatives, website updates, digital archives, social media content calendar, and online community.
Acted as creative director for all season artwork and related campaigns, overhauling company's visual identity and related messaging.
Utilized findings from focus groups, surveys, and market research to redesign website, emails, blog, and digital communication strategy.
Increased social media engagement by 35% and followers by 150%.
Photo and video work featured in Denver Post, 5280 Magazine, Westword, Colorado Public Radio, Denverite, 303 Magazine, The Gazette, and Boulder Daily Camera.
Managed team of photo/video freelancers and supervised intern program.
BLOGS
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![Barber of Seville 101 blog]()
Barber of Seville 101
Blog by Kelly Maxwell
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![Barber of Seville 101 blog]()
Pagliacci Part 1
Blog by Kelly Maxwell
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![Pagliacci Part 2 blog]()
Pagliacci Part 2
Blog by Kelly Maxwell
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![Opera Explained: Voice Types blog]()
Opera Explained: Voice Types
Blog by Kelly Maxwell
PUBLICATIONS
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![Full Page Denver Post Ad for La boheme]()
2017 Full Page Denver Post Ad for La bohème
Photography by Kelly Maxwell
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![Full Page Denver Post Ad for Falstaff]()
2017 Full Page Denver Post Ad for Falstaff
Photography by Kelly Maxwell
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![Afternoon of American Song Program Book]()
Afternoon of American Song Program Book
Program Book design and layout by Kelly Maxwell. Made with Adobe InDesign.
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![OC 19-20 Annual Report]()
2019-20 Annual Report
2019-20 Annual Report written and edited by Kelly Maxwell. Made with Adobe InDesign.
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![Barber Program_2019_Kelly Maxwell Interview with Mezzo Soprano Megan Marino]()
Interview with Mezzo Soprano Megan Marino
Kelly Maxwell’s interview and original photos from the 2019 program for The Barber of Seville
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![Pagliacci Program_2020_Kelly Maxwell Interview with Baritone Will Liverman]()
Interview with Baritone Will Liverman
Kelly Maxwell’s interview from the 2020 Program for Pagliacci
SOCIAL MEDIA
COVID-19 and SUMMER 2020 CRISIS COMMS
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![Kelly Maxwell Portfolio_Opera Colorado_COVID-19 Crisis Comms-15]()
Full post text:
Denver, CO (March 13, 2020)—Opera Colorado has closely monitored the advice of the health authorities regarding COVID-19 and is in direct contact with city and state officials. Mayor Hancock and Governor Polis have declared a state of emergency for the city of Denver and the state of Colorado. Both have strongly advised social distancing measures to prevent the spread of illness. The situation continues to develop rapidly.
The health and well-being of our patrons, artists, staff, and volunteers is our top priority. Therefore, we have decided to cancel all activities, effective immediately, including: rehearsals, events, and performances through April 5, 2020.
Opera Colorado’s Gala scheduled for this Saturday, March 14 at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver has been cancelled. The upcoming Afternoon of American Song on Saturday, March 28 at the Opera Colorado Opera Center is postponed. Patrons with tickets to this event will be contacted to discuss their options.
To protect public health and safety, we are closing our administrative offices and asking our employees to work remotely March 16 - April 5. Our team remains available for phone, internet and mail communications.
At this time, we continue to plan and prepare for our May 2020 performances of Puccini’s Tosca.
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![Kelly Maxwell Portfolio_Opera Colorado_COVID-19 Crisis Comms-16]()
Full post text:
Dear Friends and Patrons,
As you may have heard, Mayor Hancock has issued new guidelines to combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) by restricting public gatherings. For the next 8 weeks, The CDC recommends the cancellation of all large events of 50 or more people. As a result, through May 11, Mayor Hancock has cancelled all events at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. For Opera Colorado this means that we must - with a heavy heart—cancel our upcoming production of Puccini's "Tosca". As a not-for-profit organization, Opera Colorado relies exclusively on the participation of donors, subscribers, and ticket buyers to sustain our organization. Ticket revenue and donations are the backbone of Opera Colorado. Moving forward, Opera Colorado’s family of support will be more important than ever.
Sharing inspiring operatic performances and serving our community through educational programing is our passion. The safety of our patrons, artists, volunteers, and staff has been, and continues to be, our top priority. We thank you in advance for your continued support. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Stay updated via the link in our bio.
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![Kelly Maxwell Portfolio_Opera Colorado_COVID-19 Crisis Comms-17]()
Full post text:
INTRODUCING THE OPERA COLORADO ARCHIVES!
Even though COVID-19 has disrupted how Colorado and the world attend live events, the music will not stop. We’re excited to announce a new regular series where we take a deep dive into the Opera Colorado Archives and share some of the best performances from the last three decades. Keep an eye out on our blog for new content, released every Tuesday and Thursday!
In our first #TBT post, chosen by Opera Colorado’s General & Artistic Director Greg Carpenter, we’re going back to 2016’s performance of "La fanciulla del West." In this inaugural clip, Soprano Melissa Citro’s rendition of “Ti voglio bene, Minnie” tears at the heart as Minnie denies the advances of Sheriff Jack Rance and sings about waiting for the right man and her fight for true love. Citro was set to return to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in May of 2020 for Puccini’s "Tosca" before it was cancelled due to COVID-19. Check out the video via the link in our bio.
Be sure to share and use the hashtag #SempreOC to keep connected to the music and how Opera Colorado is keeping the music alive.
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![Kelly Maxwell Portfolio_Opera Colorado_COVID-19 Crisis Comms-18]()
Full post text:
The Opera Colorado family hopes this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. As we look to the future, our top priority continues to be the health, safety, and well-being of our artists, staff, and you—our patrons.
In order to safely welcome you back to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, we have taken the bold step of moving our fall, season-opening production of Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell’s The Shining to the final two weeks of June 2021.
This move was made to ensure a joyful and safe kick-off to Opera Colorado’s 38th season. The 2020-21 Season now officially opens February 2021 with a passion-filled production of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, and continues in the first weeks of May with a grand, opulent production of Bizet’s Carmen. We conclude the season in June with the highly-anticipated regional premiere of The Shining, based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King.
#sempreoc
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![Kelly Maxwell Portfolio_Opera Colorado_COVID-19 Crisis Comms-19]()
Full post text:
Opera Colorado stands with our community in mourning with the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and all the named and unnamed victims of systemic racism and violence. We are committed to embracing diversity on and off our stage, and telling stories that express ALL of humanity’s deepest emotions and highest aspirations.
Now is the time to elevate the voices and stories of the Black community in Denver and around the country. Support Denver, Black-led cultural organizations such as: @cleodance, The Source Theatre Company, @blkactorsguild, @bawmhc1, Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, Stiles African American Heritage Center, Five Points Jazz Festival, @iamjuneteenth, and @coblackartsfest.
Black voices matter. Black lives matter.
#blacklivesmatter
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
Drawing from focus group research, I proposed adding an interactive photo booth (complete with red velvet curtains and glam props!) to the lobby of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House to activate the event on social media and give patrons a sharable memento. I snapped the photos, edited them with custom-designed graphics, and them shared them out via social media. The feedback from patrons was incredibly positive and we eventually ugraded the experience with a polished step-and-repeat.
CREATIVE DIRECTION
Season Artwork
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![2018-19 Season Artwork]()
2018-19 Season Artwork
Creative Direction: Kelly Maxwell
Photographer: Matthew Staver
Design: Rassman Design
Casting: Wilhelmina Denver -
![2019-20 Season Artwork]()
2019-20 Season Artwork
Creative Direction: Kelly Maxwell
Photographer: Matthew Staver
Design: Rassman Design
Casting: Wilhelmina Denver*Tosca rescheduled due to COVID-19
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![2020-21 Season Artwork]()
2020-21 Season Artwork
Creative Direction: Kelly Maxwell
Photographer: Matthew Staver
Design: Rassman Design
Casting: Wilhelmina Denver*Season rescheduled due to COVID-19
WEBSITE
The old website, before redesign…
Redesigned and updated website.
In partnership with Tamara Vallejos, Director of Marketing & Audience Development, the OC website went from outdated to vibrant and functional. Participating in every step of the website redesign, from drafting/editing the RFP to delivering beta site revisions, Kelly Maxwell (acting as Digital Content Manager) was fundamental to the new look and feel of operacolorado.org.
Creation Chamber, now Distill, was a patient and empathetic partner during the project, from initial informational interviews, to launch and ongoing support.
Website redesign highlights:
Website redesign informed by market research, updating visual identity and implementing a new accessible (and fun!) tone.
Upgraded from Tessisura v14 to TNEW v7, in conjunction with website redesign.
Redesigned email communications to align with new website via new templates, moving from Wordfly to Tessitura-integrated email client.
New website redesigned to offer patrons and prospects a user-friendly and accessible experience for learning about Opera Colorado’s offerings, purchasing tickets, or making donations.
New website is content-forward, enabling Opera Colorado to champion it’s own work and showcase in-house digital content. With dwindling arts coverage in Denver, this became mission-critical. Both Press Room and Blog redesigned for this purpose.
WordPress remained CMS during redesign process, but the day-to-day backend was retooled for hassle-free updating via the Digital Content Manager.